System and method for advertisement transmission and display

ABSTRACT

The disclosure herein provides systems and methods for a media enhancement system configured to associate a secondary media signal (for example, the secondary media signal can comprise an advertisement) to a primary media signal (for example, a radio broadcast). The disclosure herein additionally provides systems and methods for a media enhancement system that enables the generating, transmitting, displaying, and/or responding to a plurality of associated and/or unassociated secondary media signals, based on a primary media content from a primary media signal, user characteristics (for example, demographic and/or geographic information), and/or third-party preferences (for example, the goals of advertisers). The secondary media signals can be used to enhance the primary media content already being provided to the user on a user device. The secondary media signals can also be used to create psychological associations or relationships with the primary media content already being provided to the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(c) toU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/026,449, filed Feb. 5, 2008, whichis hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, includingspecifically but not limited to the systems and methods relating toadvertisement transmission and display.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The invention relates generally to media advertising and in particularto systems and methods for associating an advertising media signal withanother media signal.

2. Description of the Related Art

In advertising, it is generally desirable to associate products withspecific characteristics, such as associating a brand of car withquality engineering. Another example is associating a brand of beveragewith the characteristic of happiness or lifestyle as exhibited bysmiling people. Creating such associations in the minds of potentialcustomers may generally increase the chance that a potential customerwill choose to purchase a product that is associated with a favorablecharacteristic. Celebrities and other images often exhibit favorablecharacteristics. Therefore, an advertisement may be more effective ifthe product advertisement is associated with an image of a celebrity orother media element exhibiting favorable characteristics.

SUMMARY

In certain embodiments, a method for associating multiple media signals,comprising in no particular order: obtaining information about a firstmedia signal; analyzing the information about the first media signal;selecting at least one second media signal to be correlated with thefirst media signal based on at least one criteria; assigning a uniqueidentifier that is specific to the transmission of the selected secondmedia signal, wherein at least the unique identifier is stored in adatabase; transmitting at least the second media signal and the uniqueidentifier to a user device, wherein the user device outputs the firstmedia signal and the second media signal to a user; receiving a userresponse from the user in relation to the second media signal whereinthe user response includes at least the unique identifier; andcorrelating at least the unique identifier in the database.

In some embodiments, a method for combining multiple media signals in adevice, comprising in no particular order: obtaining a first mediasignal by the device; outputting a first media content comprised in thefirst media signal to a user of the device; obtaining a second mediasignal by the device; obtaining a criteria correlated to the secondmedia signal; evaluating the criteria in reference to the user of thedevice; and outputting at least a second media content comprised in thesecond media signal to the user of the device, wherein in the secondmedia content outputted is determined at least in part based on theevaluation of the criteria.

In certain embodiments, a user device system capable of combiningmultiple media signals comprising: a first receiver module configured toreceive at least a first media signal from a first transmitter; a secondreceiver module configured to receive at least a second media signal anda unique identifier correlated to the second media signal; an outputmodule configured to output a primary media content from the first mediasignal and output a secondary media content from the second mediasignal; an input module capable of receiving at least a user input; anda transmitting module capable of transmitting at least the user inputand the unique identifier to a computer server, wherein the computerserver has access to a database containing at least the uniqueidentifier.

In some embodiments, a method for associating multiple media signals,comprising in no particular order: obtaining information about a firstmedia signal; analyzing the information about the first media signal;selecting at least one second media signal to be correlated with thefirst media signal based on at least one criteria; assigning a uniqueidentifier that is specific to the transmission of the selected secondmedia signal, wherein at least the unique identifier is stored in adatabase; transmitting at least the second media signal and the uniqueidentifier to a user device, wherein the user device outputs the firstmedia signal and the second media signal to a user; and transmitting theunique identifier to a third party.

For purposes of this summary, certain aspects, advantages, and novelfeatures of the invention are described herein. It is to be understoodthat not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordancewith any particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, for example,those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may beembodied or carried out in a manner that achieves one advantage or groupof advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving otheradvantages as may be taught or suggested herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention are described in detail below with reference to the drawingsof various embodiments, which are intended to illustrate and not tolimit the invention. The drawings comprise the following figures inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level overview of one embodiment of a mediaenhancement system.

FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate signals and identifiers correlated andtransmitted in between elements of one embodiment of a media enhancementsystem.

FIG. 1D illustrates identifiers correlated, transmitted and stored in adatabase in relation to elements of one embodiment of a mediaenhancement system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of a user deviceconnected to a media association system via a network.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a user device with a userinterface, connected to a media association system.

FIG. 3A illustrates one embodiment of an alternative display portion ofa user interface.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow-chart diagram of one embodiment of a methodfor a device providing media to a user.

FIG. 4A illustrates a detailed flow-chart diagram of one embodiment of amethod for a device providing media to a user.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of a mediaassociation system.

FIG. 5A illustrates a more detailed block diagram of one embodiment of amedia association system.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow-chart diagram of one embodiment of a methodfor choosing media to provide to user devices.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a media enhancement system in thecontext of one embodiment of a broadcast response and business system.

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a conditional access portal forestablishing operations criteria, filters and conditions for thecontrol, transmission, presentation, response to and reporting of mediacontent activity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosure herein provides systems and methods for a mediaenhancement system configured to associate a secondary media signal (forexample, the secondary media signal can comprise an advertisement) to aprimary media signal (for example, a radio broadcast). The disclosureherein additionally provides systems and methods for a media enhancementsystem that enables the generating, transmitting, displaying, and/orresponding to a plurality of associated and/or unassociated secondarymedia signals, based on a primary media content from a primary mediasignal, user characteristics (for example, demographic and/or geographicinformation), and/or third-party preferences (for example, the goals ofadvertisers). The secondary media signals can be used to enhance theprimary media content already being provided to the user on a userdevice. The secondary media signals can also be used to createpsychological associations or relationships with the primary mediacontent already being provided to the user.

For example, in one embodiment, a radio station transmits a song that isreceived by a user enabled-device, such as a cellular phone with aradio. The transmitted song is transmitted in a first media signal. Thesong is analyzed by a media association system to determine whatprospective media elements can be associated with the song. The userenabled-device obtains and/or receives from the media association systema secondary media signal that is separate and/or discrete from the firstmedia signal. For example, the secondary media signal could be anadvertisement for a particular truck. As the user enabled-device isplaying a song obtained from the first media signal, the userenabled-device displays the media content in the second media signal,wherein the media content can be a still or moving picture of theadvertised truck. In another embodiment, as the user enabled-device isplaying a song obtained from the first media signal, the userenabled-device displays the media content obtained from the second mediasignal, wherein the media content can be a still or moving picture withuser selectable audio of the advertised truck wherein the first audiotrack could be paused upon selection.

Additional information could be associated with the first media signaland/or the secondary media signal. For example, additional informationcould be obtained by the user enabled-device in the form of a textmessage that offers a test drive of the advertised truck at a localtruck dealer. A third media signal could be obtained or received by theuser enable-device providing the address information and/or direction tothe nearest truck dealer based on the GPS location of the userenabled-device. As an alternative to GPS, triangulation or other similarmethod may also be used to locate the user-enabled device. Accordingly,one or more media signals can be associated with the first media signal.

In one embodiment, the system provides logic and/or a user interface toallow users to select the form of desired media. For example, the usercan select to receive textual, graphical, and/or audio media contentbased on the user's location. For example, if the user is in anenvironment that is not conducive to generating audio, such as in sometransit systems, libraries, and/or schools, then the system couldgenerate graphical and/or textual media content, and no audio mediacontent.

In another embodiment, the first media signal provides and/or sendsprogramming and/or other media content, the second media signal providesand/or sends additional information about the programming from a sourceother than the originator of the first media signal, and/or the thirdmedia signal (from a third party source) could provide and/or sendunique media content to be associated with the first media signal and/orthe second media signal. For example, a radio broadcast is received asthe first media signal by a user device comprising an analog or digitalreceiver. The user device also receives the second media signal throughfor example, GPRS, EVDO and/or HSDPA over a wireless network, whereinthe second media signal comprises additional information about thebroadcast, such as an artist name, a title, an advertisement, anadvertiser, a purchase option, a voting option, and/or other interactiveoptions available and/or related to the first media signal. The userdevice also receives the third media signal comprising comments sourcedthrough a peer to peer relationship received from other user devicesrelaying comments, opinions, and/or other additional information aboutthe first and/or second media signals.

In one embodiment, the system comprises a computational device thatreceives a streamed internet transmission sourced from a radio station,a radio receiver that receives the first media stream from the radiostation, a user device such as a cell phone capable of presenting to theuser a media stream, and/or a storage device that could be connected viaa network to at least a computational device and/or the user device/cellphone. The storage device is configured to present the multiple mediastreams that are available. The computational device is configured toperform an analysis of the first media stream. Based on user selectablecriteria, the computational device is configured to select from thestorage device which available media stream is to be associated with thefirst media stream. The storage device is configured to use the networkconnection to send the selected additional media stream to the cellphone.

The cell phone is configured to display the additional media stream.When the user changes the radio status (for example, changes stationand/or turns off the device), the additional media stream on the cellphone could be continued, the user or device could alert thecomputational device of the status change to be used in future analysis,and/or the radio could automatically communicate with the computationaldevice regarding the changed status. The computational device isconfigured to continuously monitor and/or detect changes in the mediastreams from the radio station (for example, one song followed byanother song) via the internet streaming of the radio stationtransmission.

In one embodiment, the first media signal and the advertisement messagecould be integrated into the same transmission. The media associationsystem could associate the first media signal with the advertisementmessage before the broadcast of the first media signal is completed. Inanother embodiment, the first media signal and the advertisement messageare separate and discrete. In another embodiment, the first media signalis intercepted before reaching the user device and the advertisementmessage is added to the first media signal and sent on to the userdevice. In all three of the above embodiments, where the first mediasignal and advertisement message are discrete, integrated or combinedafter interception, the device receives both the first media signal andthe advertisement message and presents them to the user.

In one embodiment, the first media signal and the second media signalare integrated into the same transmission. In one embodiment, the firstmedia signal and the second media signal are separate and discrete. Inone embodiment, the first media signal is intercepted before reachingthe user device and the second media signal is added to the first mediasignal and sent on to the user device. In one embodiment, the user canrespond to the second media signal. In one embodiment, the user responseis to the first media signal sender. In one embodiment, the userresponse is to the second media signal sender. In one embodiment, theuser response is to a third party. In one embodiment, the media contentof the second media signal is selected based on demographic informationof the user, status of the user device (such as make, model, geographiclocation and/or other pertinent information) and/or other like criteria.In one embodiment, the second media signal is transmitted to the userdevice prior to the transmission of the first media signal. In oneembodiment, the media content of the second media signal is stored inthe user device. In one embodiment, the stored media content of thesecond media signal is communicated to the user based on a mediaassociation system integrated into the user device. In one embodiment, athird signal is sent to the user device indicating which, if any, storedmedia content should be communicated to the user.

As used herein, the terms “media” or “media content” are broad termsthat comprise any form of content, including without limitation,graphics, videos, sounds, text, text messages, interactive applications,vibrations, television and/or radio programming, podcasts, movies,songs, games, telephone conversations, speeches, news, information,advertisements, polls votes, personal messages, and/or other physicalmanifestations capable of communicating a concept or idea.

Similarly, the terms “hear,” “view,” “read,” “feel,” “sense,” theirsynonyms, and their alternative conjugations should be usedinterchangeably when referring to any form of media. When one sensoryverb is used in connection with one form of media, it will be clear thatother forms of media could be used in conjunction with other sensoryverbs (such as “hear a sound” is interchangeable with “view a graphic”).Similarly, the terms “display,” “present,” their synonyms, and theiralternative conjugations should be used interchangeably and be broadlyinterpreted as providing media to be sensed by the user.

The terms “media signal,” “broadcast stream,” or “media stream” arebroad terms that comprise broadcasts or transmissions from AM/FM radio,Digital radio, IBOC, Satellite, Cable, Analog television, DigitalTelevision, HSDPA (3G), UMTS, CDMA, internet, WiFi, other broadcaststations/entities, and/or other media conveyance methodologies such asdirect wire connections. Media signals can be unique media streams.Further, the foregoing terms also comprise data signals or data streamsfrom servers or devices that stream data and/or media to other devicesor servers. For example, a radio device can receive a first media signalcomprising music media content being played by a radio station, and theradio device can also receive simultaneously, serially, or otherwise asecond media signal comprising an advertisement sent by an advertisementserver or media association system.

Further, the term “program” is a broad term that comprises a portion ofa media signal in any media form, or combinations thereof. This cancomprise for example a discrete song, a series of songs, a truncatedsong, a song followed by or preceded by commentary, a song accompaniedwith graphical images and/or video, a song accompanied by text,combinations thereof, and/or analogous portions of other forms of media.Other examples can include, but are not limited to: discrete mediaelements comprising video and/or audio, a series of media elements, aportion of a media element, a media element followed by, or preceded bycommentary, a media element accompanied with fixed graphical images,video, and/or audio, a media element accompanied by text, combinationsthereof, and/or analogous portions of other forms of media.

Further, the term “sensor” is a broad term that comprises any mechanismfor converting an external stimulus and/or characteristic into asimplified signal, comprising buttons, keyboards, joysticks,touch-screens, thermometers, electrocardiographs, cameras and otherphoto sensors, microphones, a mouse, trackpad and/or trackball, mice,styluses, GPS systems, and/or other sensors. These sensors can output toelectromagnetic signals, optical displays, audio outputs, vibrators,signal carried by wire, and/or any other externally detectable response.

Further, the term “communication methods” as used herein broadly refersto protocols, standards, conventions, and/or the like for communicating.This comprises hypertext transfer protocol (“HTTP”), file transferprotocol (“FTP”), amplitude/frequency modulation (“AM/FM”), generalpacket radio service (“GPRS”), evolution-date optimized (“EVDO”), shortmessage service (“SMS”), radio broadcast data system (“RBDS”),Bluetooth®, digital radio mondiale (“DRM”), in band on channel (“IBOC”),high speed download packet access (“3G” and/or “HSDPA”), other forms ofbroadcast, telephony, peer-to-peer networking/protocol, and/or the like.Additionally, “communication methods” could comprise various physicalmeans for conveying information comprising nonexclusivelyelectromagnetic waves (for example, radio or light), sound waves,cables, and/or the like. “Communication methods” also comprises indirectmethods, such as a first communication to an intermediary via HTTP,followed by a communication from the intermediary to a receiver by atelevision signal. It should be understood that specific communicationmethods could be interchangeable in the context of this disclosure.

Further, the term “communications element” as used herein broadly refersto devices, elements, machines, and/or structures capable of usingcommunication methods. Examples comprise radio transmitters, receivers,transceivers, cellular phones, internet-capable computers, Ethernetcards, wireless adapters, and/or the like.

Further, the term “broadcast” as used herein broadly refers to mediadistributed publicly over a communication method, comprising withoutlimitation terrestrial radio, over-the-air (or terrestrial) television,cable, satellite, internet downloading, WIFI, internet streaming, othercommunications by electromagnetic waves, and/or the like.

Further, in general the word “module,” as used herein, refers to logicembodied in hardware and/or firmware, and/or to a collection of softwareinstructions, possibly having entry and/or exit points, written in aprogramming language, such as, for example, Java, and/or the JavaPlatform-Micro Edition (Java ME, and/or J2ME), comprising the JavaSpecification Request 234 (JSR 234) Advanced Multimedia Supplements.Other programming languages comprise without limitation COBOL, CICS,Lua, C and/or C++ and an application program including pseudo codeinterpretable instructions. A software module may be compiled and linkedinto an executable program, installed in a dynamic link library, and/ormay be written in an interpreted programming language such as, forexample, BASIC, Perl, PHP and/or Python. It will be appreciated thatsoftware modules may be callable from other modules and/or fromthemselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events and/orinterrupts. Software instructions may be embedded in firmware, such asan erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM). It will be furtherappreciated that hardware modules may be comprised of connected logicunits, such as gates and/or flip-flops, and/or may be comprised ofprogrammable units, such as programmable gate arrays and/or processors.The modules described herein are preferably implemented as softwaremodules, but may be represented in hardware and/or firmware. Generally,the modules described herein refer to logical modules that may becombined with other modules or divided into sub-modules despite theirphysical organization or storage.

The terms “computer,” “computer server,” “computing system,” “computerclients,” “servers,” or “computing system devices” as used herein areinterchangeable terms, and the terms broadly refer, without limitation,to a machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructionsor the like.

Further, the terms “response transmission,” “responses,”“click-through's,” or “status report” are broad terms that include anyof the communication means described above to transfer information fromthe device to other components of the system such as the mediaassociation system, first transmitter, message entity, controlmonitoring system, ancillary device or other primary devices. Theinformation can include, but is not limited to, aspects of the devicesuch as being turned off, being turned on, accessing a different mediasignal; status of reception of a first media signal, an advertisingsignal, an associated media signal, a related media signal and/or anidentifier (a unique identifier, content, device, user, advertisingsignal, first media signal, broadcaster, message entity and/oridentifying other aspects of the system); device capabilities, includingbut not limited to parameters associated with first media signal,advertisement signal, associated media signal, and/or related mediasignal presentation (display, audio, vibration), user inputcapabilities, communication capabilities; device status such aslocation, motion, use patterns, capabilities being utilized, ambientenvironment; and/or user status.

The terms “rules,” “criteria,” “conditional filters,” “programmablefilters,” “filters,” “association criteria,” “logic and rules ofoperation,” or “advertisement criteria” are broad terms that comprisewithout limitation determinate control over the following: access,creation, organization, communication, presentation and display tousers, dissemination, pricing, device and signal availability, userdevice media signal presentation and correlation to programming and/orprogrammable filters, and/or conditions to be applied to the mediasignals.

The terms “unique event identifier,” or “unique identifier” as usedherein are broad terms that refer to any means for identifying aspecific instance of a broadcast stream, transmission and/or mediasignal. As used herein, when the terms “unique identifier” or “uniqueevent identifier” are used in specificity it is to establish preeminenceof operation amongst identifiers. It is not intended to limit or excludethe presence or use of other identifier elements, content and/orclasses. The term “identifier” or “identifies” as used herein are abroad terms that refer to a representation of that which is beingidentified. The identifier may include, but is not limited to, at leastthe unique identifier and may further comprise identification of otherelements, contents and/or classes. Such elements may comprise: anadvertisement, related media, associated media, device, language user ofa device, and/or first media signals. Such contents may comprise: afirst media signal, related media, associated media, device, language,user of a device, and/or first media signal. And/or such classes maycomprise: a class of a first media signal, advertisement, related media,associated media, device, language, user of a device, and/or first mediasignal. The unique event identifier and/or identifiers are preferablyimplemented as a part of a database that allows for the storage and/orretrieval of the identifier and/or data associated with the identifier.By means of the unique event identifier and/or identifiers, reports canbe generated on the performance of various aspects of the system such aswho, what, when, where, why, which, and/or how an event within thesystem occurred, including the number of times an event within thesystem occurred; locations for events; what prompted an event; devices,signals and/or users associated with events and/or means associated withthe events.

Media Enhancement System

FIG. 1 depicts one embodiment of a media enhancement system fortransmitting and/or displaying advertisements and/or other mediacontent, wherein the system comprises but is not limited to a firsttransmitter 3, control management system 100, a media association system2, a primary device 4, an ancillary device(s) 5, and an advertisemententity 6.

Referring to FIG. 1, the first transmitter 3 can be a radio stationbroadcasting through an antenna tower via modulated electromagneticwaves. In other embodiments, the first transmitter 3 comprises but isnot limited to a broadcaster broadcasting content over the internet (forexample, by UDP, TCP/IP, HTML, HTTP, and/or the like), a broadcasterbroadcasting content through a cable line, satellite and/or throughother communication methods. Additionally, the first transmitter 3 cancomprise a computer connected to the internet so as to transmitinformation to a more limited set of receivers, such as to a set ofinternet protocol addresses email addresses, instant messenger accounts,and/or the like. Thus, as further examples the first transmitter 3 cancomprise an instance of peer-to-peer software, an interactive web-basedvideo game, a website with controlled access, and/or the like. The firsttransmitter 3 can also comprise a telephone and/or wireless connection,so as to transmit information by phone, cellular phone, and/or otherwired or wireless communication. The first transmitter 3 can alsocomprise a connection to some other element, such as a serialconnection, capable of any form of communication method. Additionally,the first transmitter 3 can comprise an encryption module to limitaccess to a first media signal 111, as illustrated in FIG. 1A.Generally, the first transmitter 3 comprises a communications element.By an indirect or direct communication method, the first transmitter 3sends a first media signal 111 that is received by the primary device 4.

The primary device 4 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be a portable device,such as a radio, television, digital media player, GPS unit, multipurpose displays, cellular phone, laptop computer, personal digitalassistant, transceiver, transmitter, receiver, and/or the like. Theprimary device 4 may also be a non-portable device, such as a desktopcomputer, television, land-line telephone, and/or the like. The primarydevice 4 can display the media content in the first media signal 111and/or transmit the first media signal to one or more ancillary devices5, which may take the form of any device such as those defined forprimary device 4 or an adjunct to a primary device 4 such as a personalcomputer, server, digital media player docking station, video player,printer, clock, telephone, answering machine, recorder, remote controland/or the like. The ancillary device can be portable, mobile such as aradio in a car or fixed in place. The ancillary devices 5 can thendisplay the media content in the first media signal 111 and/or transmitthe first media signal back to the primary device 4. When the ancillarydevice 5 comprises a communications element capable of retransmittingthe first media signal 111, the first media signal may be viewed on theprimary device 4 at a later time without requiring data storage on theprimary device 4. When the ancillary device 5 comprises a communicationselement capable of retransmitting the first media signal 111, the firstmedia signal and/or information identifying the first media signal 111,may be viewed on the ancillary device 5 at a later time withoutrequiring data storage on the primary device 4. The first media signal111 that is transmitted from the first transmitter 3 to the primarydevice 4 can contain any form(s) of media in digital and/or analogformats.

Also illustrated in FIG. 1, the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5can transmit information back to the first transmitter 3 by either thesame communication method or by a different communication method. Forexample, the first media signal 111 sent by the first transmitter 3 cancomprise a talk radio program soliciting responses to a poll. Theprimary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5, can respond by, for example,placing a phone call to the first transmitter 3, when either the primaryor ancillary device is capable of telephony. Alternatively, the firsttransmitter 3 can comprise a computer connected to the internet, sendinga first media signal 111 instant message advertising an upcomingpay-per-view television program. The primary device 4 may comprise acomputer configured to receive this instant message and upon receiving auser response transmit the message to an ancillary device 5. Theancillary device 5 can comprise a television with interactivecapabilities, such that upon receiving the message from the primarydevice 4 the ancillary device 5 can request the pay-per-view televisionprogram from the first transmitter 3. The first transmitter 3 can thensend the television program directly to the ancillary device 5. It willbe clear that other communication methods between the first transmitter3 and the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 are possible.

Referring to FIG. 1, similar transmissions and/or interactions can bemade between the first transmitter 3 and the media association system 2and/or the advertisement entity 6. The media association system 2 andthe advertisement entity 6 can each comprise the same forms as thoseidentified for the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 and/or thefirst transmitter 3. In one embodiment, the media association system 2may comprise a radio signal receiver connected to a computer that isconnected to the internet. The media association system 2 can thenreceive and/or identify the media content in the first media signal 111.For example, the media association system 2 can identify the mediacontent as a particular song or particular program. As illustrated inFIG. 1B, media association system 2 can use this information to send ortransmit a secondary or related media signal 114, such as informationregarding the media content of the first media signal 111, to theprimary device 4 and/or the ancillary devices 5 through an internetconnection. The secondary or related media signal 114 can be provided byany communication method described herein, and the secondary or relatedmedia signal 114 can either be the same or different type ofcommunication method used to transmit the first media signal 111.

In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the first transmitter 3 andthe media association system 2 can be combined into a single system withone part performing the functions of the first transmitter 3 and anotherpart performing the functions of the media association system 2. Thecommunications, processing, memory, and/or other components of such acombined system can be shared between the different parts or beseparate.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5can also send signals back to the media association system 2 and/or tothe control management system 100. For example, if the related mediasignal 114 sent by the media association system 2 to the devices 4, 5comprises purchasing information for a song present in the first mediasignal 111, the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 can provide apurchase request to the media association system 2. The mediaassociation system 2 can then transmit the purchase request to the firsttransmitter 3, to a third party for fulfillment, and/or to the controlmanagement system 100. The response transmission sent back to the mediaassociation system 2 and/or the control management system 100 cancomprise: the response to a first media signal 111 and/or a uniqueidentifier 115 obtained from first media signal 111, a response to anadvertisement media signal 113, and/or a unique identifier 115 obtainedfrom advertisement media signal 113, (and/or a user identifier, a deviceidentifier etc), a user selection from a list of options and/or thestatus of the device (including but not limited to the presentation ofthe first media signal, presentation of the advertisement signal,changing which first transmitter 3 is being received, the device turningon or off).

Referring to FIG. 1, the advertisement entity 6 can make similarcommunications with the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5, the firsttransmitter 3, as well as the media association system 2, to a thirdparty for more information, and/or to the control management system 100.For example, the advertisement entity 6 can send an advertisement psignal 113 to the media association system 2, for the purpose of havingit provided by the media association system 2 to the primary and/orancillary devices 4, 5. The advertisement entity 6 can also sendadvertisement criteria to the media association system 2, such that theadvertisement signal 113 is provided to the primary and/or ancillarydevices 4, 5 upon them receiving a specific song from the firsttransmitter 3 in the first media signal 111. The advertisement signal113 can comprise, for example, graphical media along with an interactivepurchasing option for the advertisement entity's product. A user of theprimary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 can respond to the advertisementsignal 113 with a purchase order in the form of an interactive responsesent back to the media association system 2, to a third party forfulfillment/more information or the control management system 100,and/or directly to the advertisement entity 6.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the advertisement entity 6 can alsocommunicate with the first transmitter 3, to a third party forfulfillment/more information. and/or the control management system 100.As illustrated in FIG. 1A, for example, the first transmitter 3 can sendto the advertisement entity 6 a current and/or future schedule of themedia content to be contained in the first media signal 111. Asillustrated in FIG. 1B the advertisement entity 6 can then use thisinformation to determine the advertisement media content 113 ittransmits to the media association system 2. In another embodiment, asillustrated in FIG. 1A, the first transmitter 3 can send to the controlmanagement system 100 a current and/or future schedule of the mediacontent to be contained in the first media signal 111. As illustrated inFIG. 1B, the control management system 100 can then use this informationto determine the advertisement media content 113 it transmits to themedia association system 2.

The First Media Signal

Referring to FIG. 1A, the first transmitter 3 can send a first mediasignal 111 to the primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5. FIG. 1Aalso illustrates an embodiment of a first media signal 111 transmittedfrom the first transmitter 3 to the primary device 4, the mediaassociation system 2, and the advertisement entity 6. The first mediasignal 111 can comprise any type of media as set forth herein.

In some embodiments the first media signal 111 can be integrated ortransmitted together with a secondary or associated media signal 112and/or identifier 115 (as illustrated in FIG. 1A) or the first mediasignal 111 can be transmitted separately from the associated mediasignal 112 and/or identifier 115. The associated media signal 112 cancomprise information and/or data related to or about the media contentsin the first media signal 111, such as the title, author, artist, album,ad, advertiser, length, date of creation, language identifier, checksum,error checking/correction and/or other relevant information, or theassociated media signal 112 can comprise associated media content, suchas album cover art, accompanying music, lyrics and/or other mediacontent. When the associated media signal 112 is integral with the firstmedia signal 111 the two signals can be combined into a single signaltransmitted with, for example, alternating information or data packets(as illustrated in FIG. 1A) over a single frequency or physical dataconnection.

The associated media signal 112 can be transmitted integrally with thefirst media signal 111 via a communication method. Alternatively, whenthe two signals are separate they can be transmitted on distinctfrequencies, through distinct physical connections, at distinct times,and/or through distinct communication methods (for example, one byphysical connection and the other by electromagnetic waves). Integrallycombining a first media signal 111 with an associated media signal 112can ensure that all, substantially all, or some of devices that receivethe first media signal 111 can also receive the associated media signal112. In some cases, when the first media signal 111 and the associatedmedia signal 112 are not integral or are sent as separate media signals,then a unique identifier 115 can be assigned to the first media signal111 and/or the associated media signal 112. In other embodiments, theidentifier is not a unique identifier. In some embodiments, the uniqueidentifier 115 is specific to the transmission of the first media signal111 and/or the associated media signal 112. In another embodiment, theunique identifier 115 is tied to the specific instance of each mediacontent segment conveyed via the first media signal 111. In anotherembodiment, the unique identifier 115 is tied to the specific instanceof each media content segment conveyed via the associated media signal112.

As illustrated in FIG. 1D, the unique identifier 115 is database-linkedthereby allowing a user (for example, a user of the control managementsystem 100, media association system 2 and/or advertisement entity 6) toconduct a search or lookup of the information identified by the uniqueidentifier 115 to determine the location, the user device, the time oftransmittal, the program and/or media content in the first media signal,the available options for response to the user of the device, and/orother identifying characteristic information. Identifiers illustrated inFIG. 1D are representative but not limited to identifiers, elements,content and/or classes of identifiers used in the media enhancementsystem. As depicted in FIG. 8, the control management system 100 cancomprise a conditional access user interface that allows programmablefilters and/or conditions to be applied to the control, transmission,presentation and/or response to media content. The frequency of mediacontent presentation, the duration of media content presentation, costof click through responses to third parties by end users using primarydevice 4 and/or ancillary device 5, cost or pricing for use of the mediaassociation system 2, the conditions of response to media contentpresentation, the defined parameters controlling the relationshipbetween first media signal 111 and associated media signal 112 and thelanguage relating to the media content is controlled by conditions setin the control management system 100.

Conditional filters established and/or controlled in the controlmanagement system server 100 may include but not be limited to:geographic location, time of day, language, source of broadcasttransmission, account establishment for participation by third parties,cost of click throughs, cost of media content presentation, cost ofreporting frequency of media content presentation, number of times mediacontent presentation occurred, responses generated from media contentpresentation, demographic information associated with media contentpresentation and response, reporting results of media contentpresentation and response, noticeability of messages and/oradvertisements by the user, demographic of the user, frequency ofpresentation, duration of presentation, size of the graphic and/or videopresented, compression of the audio presented, combinations of the same,or the like. In addition, logic and rules of operation for presentationcan be maintained by the control management system 100. Conditionalfilters established and/or controlled in the control management systemserver 100 can also modulate and/or determine features of the primarydevice 4, features of the ancillary device 5 and/or availability ofcommunication means.

As illustrated in FIG. 1A, an identifier 115 can also be used when thefirst media signal 111 and associated media signal 112 are integral. Theidentifier 115 can serve to identify both signals, or only one of thesesignals and/or media content segments within a signal.

Again referring to FIGS. 1, 1A the first media signal 111 from the firsttransmitter 3 can come in the form of an electromagnetic wave (forexample, traditional radio, digital radio and/or television signals,WiFi, satellite, cellular phone signals, and/or the like), electronicand/or fiber-optic transmission over cable lines (such as, land-linetelephones, cable television, DSL, other internet connections, and/orthe like), and/or other communication methods.

Although the first media signal 111, as depicted in FIG. 1A, istransmitted to the primary device 4, the media association system 2, andthe advertisement entity 6, it is clear that the first media signal 111could further be transmitted to any number of devices or entities, aswell as the ancillary devices 5 including the control management system100.

The Advertisement Signal

Referring back to FIG. 1, both the media association system 2 and theadvertisement entity 6 can provide an advertisement media signal 113 tothe primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5. The advertisement mediasignal 113 can be provided by any of the communication methods disclosedherein, and/or can comprise any form of media content.

FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C illustrate the media association system 2transmitting the advertisement media signal 113 and the related mediasignal 114 to the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5. Similar to thefirst media signal 111, the related media signal 114 and/or theadvertisement media signal 113 can comprise graphics, video, audio,and/or text. Additionally, similar to the first media signal 111, therelated media signal 114 and/or the advertisement media signal 113 canbe interactive in nature, allowing back-and-forth communication betweenthe primary device 4 and the media association system 2, theadvertisement entity 6 and the control management system 100. Forexample, the advertisement media signal 113 may comprise games, polls orvotes, message boards, discounts, digital coupons, premiums, options topurchase related products, and/or other interactive activities. Further,the first media signal 111 can also be associated with a plurality ofadvertisement media signals 113 to be selectively played throughout theduration of the first media signal 111.

Along with the advertisement media signal 113, the advertisement entity6 in FIG. 1 can provide advertisement criteria, associated with saidadvertisement signal 113, for determining when said advertisement signal113 should be provided to the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5and/or conditions of presentation to a user. To facilitate theassignment and/or sending of an advertisement media signal 113 with afirst media signal 111, a unique identifier 115 can be provided to eachmedia signal (the first media signal 111, the advertisement media signal113, and/or the related media signal 114), and/or each instance of eachsignal or content media segment. Similarly, media signals canadditionally or alternatively be assigned one or more non-uniqueidentifiers 115 to classify said media signals for similar purposes,such as an identifier for all, substantially all, or some instances ofadvertisement media signals 113 with a given graphical image, all,substantially all, or some signals provided in a given time period, all,substantially all, or some signals provided to a given device, all,substantially all, or some signals originating from a given source, orother purpose. These identifiers 115 can be stored in a database and/orother location such as the control management system 100, along withother relevant information. The unique identifier 115 can be used by themedia association system 2, the advertisement entity 6, the firsttransmitter 3, and/or the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 and/orthe control management system 100 as discussed further below, to trackand/or record the results of any given signal as well as to determinewhether the signal should be provided to the primary and/or ancillarydevices 4, 5 and/or the user. Presentation of advertisement signal 113on primary devices 4 and/or ancillary devices 5 may be different foreach user even when receiving the same first media signal 111 dependingon the age, gender, language, location, time of day, type of device,user preferences, user affiliations, combinations of the same, or thelike as defined by criteria established in the control management system100, the media association system 2 and/or the advertisement entity 6.

Again referring to FIG. 1B, the advertisement media signal 113transmitted by the advertisement entity 6 can contain a unique and/ornon-unique identifier 115, along with further associated data integratedwith the signal. For example, the advertisements media signal 113 may beimmediately preceded by or immediately follow a data signal with theadvertisement signal's unique identifier 115, identifiers 115, and/oradvertisement criteria. The advertisement media signal 113 may also beassociated with a separate data signal also sent by the advertisemententity 6, for example, in a simultaneous transmission or in a latertransmission. The signals can be associated by their time oftransmission, use of identifiers 115, or any other characteristics.

The identifier 115 associated with the first media signal 111,associated media 112, advertisement signal 113, and/or related media114, could each be separate and/or discrete from each other. Theidentifier 115 associated with the first media signal 111, associatedmedia 112, advertisement signal 113, and/or related media 114, could bethe same identifier.

In one embodiment, the advertisement media signal 113 can be conveyed tothe primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5 prior to transmission ofthe first media signal 111. Along with the advertisement signal 113, theidentifier 115 can contain association criteria for the advertisementsignal 113. The primary device 4 and/or the ancillary device 5 can storethe advertisement signal 113 and the identifier 115. Examples of suchassociation criteria include, but is not limited to, the ability torecognize a particular first media signal by its identifier 115,demographic information the advertisement signal 113 is appropriate for,information to match the demographics of the advertisement signal 113with a first media signal 111, and/or similar information. When a firstmedia signal 111 and identifier 115 is received by the primary device 4and/or the ancillary device 5, then the association criteria could beapplied. For example, an advertisement signal 113 identified asappropriate for people over 40 years of age could be indicated by theidentifier 115, could have been received earlier and stored in theprimary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5. A first media signal 111could be received by the primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5,along with the identifier 115 indicating the first media signal 111 isdirected primarily at people over 40. The association criteria couldcheck the storage on primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5,determine that advertisement signal 113 is appropriate for presentationwith first media signal 111 and then have either the primary device 4and/or ancillary device 5 to present the advertisement signal 113 at thesame time or substantially the same time as the first media signal 111is presented to the user of the primary device 4 and/or ancillary device5. In some embodiments, the advertisement signal 113 may be presented ata different time than the first media signal 111. Similarly, in anotherembodiment the advertisement signal 113 and a corollary identifier 115are associated with a first media signal 111. The first media signal 111and the corollary identifier 115 are received and stored by the primarydevice 4 and/or ancillary device 5. When the primary device 4 and/orancillary device 5 receives the first media signal 111 with the firstmedia identifier 115 corollary to the advertisement signal identifier115, the association criteria would check the stored information onprimary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5 to determine thatadvertisement signal 113 is appropriate for presentation with firstmedia signal 111. Validation is confirmed because the advertisementsignal identifier 115 and first media identifier 115 correlate. Next,the primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5 present the advertisementsignal media signal 113 at the same time or nearly the same time as thefirst media signal 111 is presented to the user of primary device 4and/or ancillary device 5.

The methods and systems of user sign up and/or opt in to web basedportals for the purpose of managing content selection, advertisingresponse follow up and/or account management are further described indetail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/806,084, filed Mar. 22,2004, titled “BROADCAST RESPONSE METHOD AND SYSTEM,” which isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

Related Media Signal

As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, the media association system 2can also provide media as a service to the user and/or for its ownbenefit. The related media signal 114 sent from the media associationsystem 2 to the primary device 4 and/or ancillary devices 5 can compriseany form of media content which may or may not be related to the firstmedia signal 111 and/or the advertisement media signal 113. For example,the related media signal 114 may comprise album art and/or a music videorelating to a first media signal 111 that comprises a song.Additionally, the related media signal 114 can comprise text, such as asong's author, title, album, producer, lyrics, music notation,purchasing information, and/or other information. It will be clear thatthe related media signal 114 can also comprise interactive media,advertisements and/or any other form of media. It will also be clearthat the related media signal 114 may be related to other criteria, suchas criteria related to the user. For example, the related media signal114 can comprise a reminder pre-programmed by the user, and/or otherreminders such as a reminder to pay a service bill. Thus, the relatedmedia signal 114 can be related to the first media signal, the user, themedia association system 2, the advertisement signal 113, and/or anyother relevant element.

Again referring to FIGS. 1, 1B, 1C, the related media signal 114 can beprovided from the media association system 2 by any communication methoddiscussed herein. This may be the same means or a different means fromthat which is used to transmit the advertisement media signal 113 and/orthe first media signal 111. Additionally, like the foregoing mediasignals, the related media signal 114 may also be associated with aunique or non-unique identifier 115.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1B, 1C the advertisement signal 113 and therelated media signal 114 can be sent integrally or separately, as canthe first media signal 111 and associated media signal 112.

Response Signals

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 canalso send signals to the first transmitter 3, the media associationsystem 2, control management system 100 and/or the advertisement entity6. As discussed above, these signals from the primary and/or ancillarydevices 4, 5 can comprise responses to interactive media signals.Additionally, the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 can alsotransmit user data in response to or independent of signals received bythe primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5. The primary device 4 cantransmit user behavior, such as when the user changes a channel, turnsthe device on or off, changes the volume, and/or any other parameter.Primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 equipped with GPS systems and/orother geographical positioning systems, such as those offered byGoogle®, can also report location, direction of motion, and/or speed.Primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 further equipped with othersensors can detect other information or data about the user and/or theuser's location and/or environment. Such information can advantageouslybe used by the media association system 2 to decide what media and/oradvertisements to be sent to the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5in order to obtain a reaction from the user in general, and/or whatmedia and/or advertisements are likely to elicit a positive reaction ata given time and/or when the user is in a given state or environment, asfurther discussed below.

Additionally, as depicted in FIG. 1, the ancillary devices 5 can conveydata from the primary device 4 to the media association system 2. Forexample, if the primary device 4 is a radio-enabled cellular phone andan ancillary device 5 is a personal computer, the primary device 4 cancollect data and later upload that data to the personal computer througha data transfer protocol, such as Bluetooth®, which in turn can send theuser data through a network connection to the media association system2. The ancillary device 5 can comprise superior bandwidth, storagecapacity, and/or processing power relative to the primary device 4,allowing the ancillary device 5 to transmit more complex data to themedia association system 2.

As further illustrated in FIG. 1, the primary and/or ancillary devices4, 5 can also provide similar communications with the advertisemententity 6 and/or the first transmitter 3, and/or the control managementsystem 100 as disclosed for the media association system 2. Thus, theprimary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 can be equipped to receivemultiple media signals from either of these sources, and respond theretoin the same way as done with the media association system 2. It isadditionally possible for the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 tocommunicate with any of the other entities indirectly through the mediaassociation system 2.

The methods and systems of processing responses or broadcast responsesare further described in detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/806,084, filed Mar. 22, 2004, titled “BROADCAST RESPONSE METHOD ANDSYSTEM,” which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Referring to FIG. 1, it is clear that system 1 could encompass multiplefirst transmitters 3, primary devices 4, ancillary devices 5, mediaassociation systems 2 and/or message entities 6. The introduction ofmultiple components in system 1 can increase the versatility of thecommunication connections. As an example, when primary device 4 isreceiving a first media signal 111 from a first transmitter 3, then theadvertisement signal 113 can be handled using the media associationsystem 2. But when the primary device 4 changes device status to receivea different first media signal 111 from a different first transmitter 3,then advertisement signal 113 may need to switch and be obtained from adifferent media association system 2. This switch can occur in severaldifferent ways depending on how the communications are conducted. As anexample, the change from first transmitter 3 to the different firsttransmitter 3 can be a change in tuning frequency, change in the methodof communication with first transmitter 3, sending a message to firsttransmitter 3 and/or the different first transmitter 3 and/or otheraction. With the change from first transmitter 3 to the different firsttransmitter 3, the primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5 can havealready stored and/or obtained data indicating which media associationsystem 2 corresponds to the different first transmitter 3 and how toestablish communication with the appropriate media association system 2.Alternatively, the associated media 112 can indicate which mediaassociation system 2 will have the advertisement signal 113 for theprimary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5. Alternatively, the mediaassociation system 2 can have a gateway system associated with it suchthat all communication from the primary device 4 and/or ancillary device5 can be sent through the gateway. Then the media association system 2can have sub-modules associated with the different first transmitters 3.When the primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5 indicates a devicestatus change, the appropriate media association system 2 sub-modulescan be informed so they can stop sending advertisement signal 113associated with the current first transmitter 3 and begin sendingadvertisement signal 113 associated with the different first transmitter3. Alternatively, when the current media association system 2 receivesthe device status change from primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5indicating a change from receiving the current first transmitter 3 toreceiving the different first transmitter 3, then current mediaassociation system 2 can inform the different media association system 2of the change, stop sending advertisement signal 113 to primary device 4and/or ancillary device 5, and the different media association system 2can begin sending advertisement signal 113 to primary device 4 and/orancillary device 5. Alternatively, primary device 4 and/or ancillarydevice 5 can communicate with the control management system 100 alldevice status changes such as device turning on or off, device changingstations and/or the like. The control management system 100 could thencoordinate among the media association systems 2 for which of them willcommunicate with the primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5.Alternatively, the primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5 can senddevise status change information to some or all media associationsystems 2 allowing them to determine which one of them shouldcommunicate with primary device 4 and/or ancillary device 5.

Primary Device Computing System Components

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a primary device 4. The primarydevice 4 comprises a computing system 400, which comprises a computersystem suitable for controlling and/or communicating with the mediaassociation system 2, the advertisement entity 6, the first transmitter3, the control management system 100 and other third parties for whichthe primary device 4 is designed to communicate (for example, theinternet 7). The components and/or connections disclosed below forcomputing system 400 can also be used to implement the other modules,systems, and/or devices described herein.

The computing system 400 comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 404,which may comprise a microprocessor and/or baseband chip. The computingsystem 400 further comprises a memory 405, such as random access memory(RAM) for temporary storage of information and/or a read only memory(ROM) for permanent storage of information, and a mass storage device401, such as a hard drive, diskette, flash memory, and/or optical mediastorage device. Typically, the modules of the computing system 400 areconnected to the computer system 400 using a standards based bus system.In other embodiments, the standards based bus system could be PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI), Microchannel, SCSI, Industrial StandardArchitecture (ISA), Baseband Bus and Extended ISA (EISA) architectures,and/or other proprietary bus system for example.

In one embodiment, the computing system 400 comprises one or morecommonly available input/output (I/O) devices and/or interfaces 403,such as a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, four-way navigation button, othersensors, wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi, Infrared, and/ora printer. In one embodiment, the I/O devices and/or interfaces 403comprise one or more display devices, such as a monitor or display thatallows the visual presentation of media and/or options to a user. Moreparticularly, a display device provides for the presentation of GUIs,application software data, multimedia presentations, menus and/or anyother form of media or decision lists. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, theI/O devices and/or interfaces 403 also provide a communicationsinterface to various external devices. The computing system 400 may alsocomprise one or more multimedia devices 402, such as speakers, videocards, graphics accelerators, microphones, vibrators, and/or otherdevices capable of presenting media.

Computing System Device/Operating System

The computing system 400 may operate on a variety of computing devices,such as, for example, a server, a Windows server, a Mac server, aStructure Query Language server, a Unix server, Linux server, a personalcomputer, a mainframe computer, a laptop computer, a cell phone, apersonal digital assistant, a kiosk, an audio player, combinations ofthe same, or the like. The computing system 400 is generally controlledand coordinated by operating system software, such as z/OS, Windows 95,Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux,Unix, SunOS, Solaris, Palm, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry,Android, Mac OS X and/or the like. Other operating systems may also becompatible. In other embodiments, the computing system 400 may becontrolled by a proprietary operating system. Operating systems controland schedule computer processes for execution, perform memorymanagement, provide file system, networking, and I/O services, and/orprovide a user interface, such as a graphical user interface (GUI),among other things.

Network

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the computing system 400 communicates witha network 410, such as one or more of a LAN, WAN, cellular network,public switched telephone network, and/or the Internet, for example, viaa wired, wireless, or combination of wired and wireless, communicationlink 415. The network 410 communicates with various computing devicesand/or other electronic devices via wired and/or wireless communicationlinks. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the network 410 is communicatingwith the media association system 2, the advertisement entity 6, thefirst transmitter 3, the internet 7, the ancillary devices 5, and/orother entities 10 with which any of the preceding elements areconfigured to communicate.

Access to the display selection module 406 of the computer system 400 bythe media association system 2 may be through a web-enabled user accesspoint such as a computer, cellular phone, laptop, and/or other devicecapable of connecting to the network 410. Such a device may have abrowser module implemented as a module that uses text, graphics, audio,video, and/or other media to present data and to allow interaction withdata via the network 410. The browser module may be implemented as acombination of an all, substantially all, or some points addressabledisplay such as a cathode-ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display(LCD), organic light emitting diode (OLED), a rear-projection display, aplasma display, or other types and/or combinations of output devices topresent media to the user. In addition, the browser module may beimplemented to communicate with input devices 403 and may also comprisesoftware with the appropriate interfaces which allow a user to accessdata through the use of stylized screen elements such as, for example,menus, windows, dialog boxes, toolbars, and/or controls (for example,radio buttons, check boxes, sliding scales, combinations of the same, orthe like). Furthermore, the browser module may communicate with a set ofinput and/or output devices to receive signals from the user. The inputdevice(s) may be connected and designed to interpret outputs fromsensors comprised on the primary device 4. The output device(s) maycomprise a speaker, a display screen, a printer, and/or a voicesynthesizer. In addition a touch screen may act as a hybrid input/outputdevice. In another embodiment, a user may interact with the system moredirectly such as through a system terminal connected to the primarydevice 4 without communications over the Internet, a WAN, LAN, and/orsimilar network capable of a communication method.

Other Systems

In addition to the systems that are illustrated in FIG. 2, the network410 may communicate with other data sources and/or other computingdevices. The computing system 400 may also comprise one or more internaland/or external media sources. For example, any of the media provided bythe sources described herein may be stored in whole or in part in thecomputing system 400 or may be stored in whole or in part on ancillarydevices 5 or the media association system 2. In some embodiments, one ormore of the data repositories and/or the data sources may be implementedusing a relational database, such as DB2, Sybase, Oracle, CodeBase,mySQL, PHP and/or Microsoft® SQL Server as well as other types ofdatabases such as, for example, a flat file database, anentity-relationship database, object-oriented database, and/or arecord-based database.

It will be clear that any ancillary devices 5 can comprise the sameorganizational structure as the primary device 4, as described in thissection.

User Interface

FIG. 3 illustrates a user interface of an embodiment of a primary device4. When primary device 4 receives the first media signal 111 through areceiver 455 and/or wire data connection 470, the contents of firstmedia signal 111 can be presented along with related information to theuser on primary device 4. For example, if the first media signal 111comprises a radio program the primary device 4 can play the audio signalto the user through speaker 453. In some embodiments, the primary device4 can modify the program by changing the volume and/or pitch, overlayingother audio effects, pausing and resuming the program, and/or if theprogram has been recorded the primary device 4 can fast-forward or skipthrough the program. Analogous effects could be made on a televisionsignal, comprising overlaying related content in a discrete section ofthe screen or mixing distinct audio signals with distinct video signals.It will be clear that further modifications could be made by the primarydevice 4 prior to viewing by the user for other forms of media. It willalso be clear that the modifications need not be limited by the form ofmedia viewed. Thus, for example, some embodiments can add graphics to apurely audio media signal, or add audio to a purely graphical mediasignal.

More specifically, the embodiment of a primary device presented in FIG.3 is a radio-enabled cellular phone with a display panel 450. When tunedto a radio station the first transmitter 3, the display panel 450 canshow information relating to the radio program being played, and theinformation can be acquired from an associated media signal 112 and/orfrom the media association system 2. In FIG. 3, the upper portion of thedisplay panel 451 can comprise textual information corresponding to themusic being played on the radio, comprising the name of the artist,title of the song or media content, and/or time remaining in the song ormedia content. However, the display could also comprise otherinformation comprising the record label or logo, the price of the albumor media content, related news, lyrics, radio station logo, advertiserlogo or message, and/or sponsored information or other information thatusers may desire to see while listening to the radio station.Additionally, the display can comprise album art, a music video, and/orany other form of media (graphical, textual and/or otherwise). In thisembodiment, the information is provided in an upper panel 451 but itcould also be provided in other portions of the display panel 450. Itwill additionally be clear that this information need not be static, butcan instead scroll across the screen, periodically rotate through a setof distinct images and/or messages, and/or comprise other visualeffects. It will further be clear that the images on the upper panel 451could be associated with other media provided along with the radiosignal, such as a brief ping and/or vibration when a new image ispresented. Control and/or presentation logic of the graphic and/or audioinformation presented via display panel 450, upper panel 451, lowerpanel 452, and/or speaker 453 is established and maintained through theuse criteria established in the control management system 100 and/orrules of operation established in the media association system 2.

The lower panel 452 of the display panel in FIG. 3 displays anadvertisement signal 113. In the illustrated embodiment, the lower panel452 displays a textual advertisement signal 113. However, like therelated media signal 114 displayed on the upper panel 451, theadvertisement signal 113 can comprise any sort of media which can beprovided as a static image, scrolling images, text, overlaid audio,interactive media, video, and/or other forms of media. Notably, theadvertisement signal 113 need not be presented through the displaypanel, but could alternatively be presented through the speaker, avibration system, and/or any other primary device output 402, 403.

In other embodiments, it will be advantageous to provide the relatedmedia signal 114 and the advertisement signal 113 to the display panel450 separately as in FIG. 3, or to provide the related media signal 114in a distinct display panels 450, or to alternate what is displayed,such that only one signal or media content segment is displayed in thedisplay panel 450 at any one time. For example, the display panel 450can comprise two separate panels, one for presenting the related mediasignal 114 and the other for presenting the advertisement signal 113.This may be advantageous for allowing viewers to quickly and more easilyidentify the information they wish to find. In other embodiments, onesignal is brighter than another or one display should be turned offwhile the other remains on. Considering these alternative embodiments,it will also be clear that the primary device 4 need not display both anadvertisement signal 113 and a related media signal 114 at the sametime. As an example, the primary device 4 may provide a related mediasignal 114 or provide an advertisement signal 113. As another example,the primary device 4 may provide a toggle button 462 allowing a user totoggle between displays of the advertisement signal 113 and the relatedmedia signal 114. It may be advantageous to set the display panel 450 toshow the advertisement signal 113 by default, and then to display thedata signal upon activation of the toggle button 462. The display panel450 can then return to displaying the advertisement signal 113 upon theoccurrence of some criteria such as a re-activation of the toggle button462 or the passage of a certain amount of idle time. In anotherembodiment, advertisement signal 113 may be presented using displaypanel 450, upper panel 451 or lower panel 452 depending on variouspricing scenarios determining value of the presentation area based oncriteria such as: noticeability of the message or presentation by theuser, age or gender of the user, frequency of presentation, duration ofpresentation, size of the graphic or video presented, compression of theaudio presented, combinations of the same, or the like. Logic and rulesof operation for presentation can be established through use of aconditional access portal in the control management system 100 or mediaassociation system 2 or a logical operative of both. Presentation ofadvertisement signal 113 on primary devices 4 and/or ancillary devices 5may be unique for each user even when receiving the same first mediasignal 111 depending on criteria such as: age, gender, language,location, time of day, type of device, user preferences, useraffiliations, combinations of the same, or the like.

Referring further to FIG. 3, in some embodiments, the related mediasignal 114 and/or the advertisement signal 113 may be provided using thesame display means as the first media signal 111. In FIG. 3, the firstmedia signal 111 may comprise audio along with video and/or graphicalmedia content. In this instance the display panel 450 can be furthersubdivided, such that the primary device 4 can present each graphicalsignal (first media signal 111, advertisement signal 113, and/or relatedmedia signals 114) all, substantially all, or some on the same displaypanel 450. In other embodiments, the primary device 4 can be configuredby the user or through the media association system 2 to adopt a set ofdisplay criteria, which instructs the computing system 400 what shouldbe displayed and how.

An alternative display is illustrated in FIG. 3A. The primary device 3can present the advertisement signal 113 and the related media signal114 overlaid on the first media signal 111. The display selection module406 can comprise criteria for the placement of the advertisement signal113 and/or the related media signal 114 so as to optimize the viewingexperience. This may involve placing the signals in set positions on theperiphery of the first media signal 111, dynamically changing theirplacement according to characteristics of the first media signal 111,and/or the like.

More generally, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 3A, the advertisementand/or related media signals 113, 114 can be provided in the intersticesof a first media signal 111. These interstices can be based on time,location, content and/or form of media. Alternatively, the advertisementand/or related media signals 113, 114 can be provided overlapping withthe first media signal 111.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the primary device 4 comprises a plurality ofbuttons 462. In addition to buttons 462, some embodiments can compriseother input sensors to allow user input. These sensors 403 allow theprimary device 4 to provide interactive media contained in the relatedmedia signal 114, advertisement media signal 113, and/or the first mediasignal 111. The sensors 403 can communicate with the computing system400 (as illustrated in FIG. 2) which can then create a device responsesignal sent to the media association system 2 through the network 410.The media association 2 can respond to that with another related mediasignal 114 or advertisement signal 113, which can be displayed to theuser so as to create a truly interactive experience for the user.Alternatively, this interactive signal set could be provided to theprimary device 4 in the initial related media signal 114 oradvertisement signal 113, such that the primary device 4 can respond toinput from sensors (such as the buttons 462) without needing tocommunicate with the media association system 2. The interactive signalset can also configure the primary device 2 to communicate withancillary devices 5, through the ancillary devices 5 to the mediaassociation system 2, through the media association system 2 to theancillary devices 5, through either of these to other entities, ordirectly with other entities so as to create an interactive experiencefor the user. It will further be clear that an interactive signal setcan comprise some combination of these communication methods.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, above the display panel 450 the primary device4 comprises a speaker 453 and below the display panel 450 the primarydevice 4 comprises a microphone 461. Other input sensors and/or outputmodules can be provided through a connection to an ancillary device 5.For example, if a media signal 114 and/or an advertisement media signal113 cannot viewed on the primary device 4, then a user can view themedia signal 114 and/or the advertisement media signal 113 on anancillary device 5. In other embodiment, the primary device 4 willmodify the media signal 114 and/or an advertisement media signal 113 inorder to display the media content on the primary device 4.Additionally, the primary device can also ignore the media signal 114and/or an advertisement media signal 113 if the media content cannot bedisplayed on the primary device 4.

As further depicted in FIG. 3, the primary device 4 can be connected toan ancillary device 5, depicted here as a personal computer connected bya wire data connection 470. The first media signal 111 can be storedusing a mass storage device 401 on the primary device 4 (depicted inFIG. 2) and/or on an ancillary device 5 comprising similar mass storagedevice. The ancillary device 5 can receive the first media signal 111and the advertisement signal 113 directly from the first transmitter 3and/or the media association system 2. Alternatively, the ancillarydevice 5 can receive the first media signal 111 and the advertisementsignal 113 indirectly through the primary device 4 or some other agent.The ancillary device 5 need not acquire both signals from the samesource. For example, if a user wishes to listen to a radio broadcast ata later time the user could configure an ancillary device 5 to recordsaid first media signal 111. This configuration could be implementedindirectly through the interface on the primary device 4 or directly onan interface on the ancillary device 5. Then, the first media signal 111could later be viewed on the primary device 4 after transmitting therecorded first media signal 111 from the ancillary device 5 to theprimary device 4. Alternatively the first media signal 111 could beviewed directly on the ancillary device 5, such as when the ancillarydevice 5 comprises a home entertainment system. In the foregoing, theadvertisement signal 113 and the related media signal 114 can berecorded, transferred, and viewed just as done with the first mediasignal 111. Accordingly, the advertisement signal 113 and the relatedmedia signal 114 can remain associated with the first media signal 111.

The primary and/or the ancillary devices 4, 5 in FIG. 3 can be inregular communication with the media association system 2, andaccordingly a first media signal 111 stored for later viewing can beassociated with an advertisement signal 113 distinct from theadvertisement signal 113 associated with the first media signal 111 whenviewed in real time. Whether the advertisement signal 113 is preservedor changed upon storage of the first media signal 111 can be determinedby advertisement placement criteria, discussed further below. Theprimary device 4 can replace the advertisement signal 113 when theadvertised product, service, cause, and/or event is geographicallyand/or temporally specific, such as presenting an advertisement for arestaurant intended to be shown slightly before lunch time to thoselikely to be near the given restaurant at that time of day. Theadvertisement signal 113 can also be replaced upon the occurrence ofother criteria, such as a given user response, age, gender, language,location, time of day, type of device, user preferences, useraffiliations, popularity, political affinity, cultural affinity, and/orthe like. Similar actions can be made on the related media signal 114.

Although the embodiment described in this section is a radio-enabledcellular phone, it will be clear that other devices can be provided inaccordance with the invention. For example, the primary device 4 couldcomprise a WiFi enabled receiver, laptop computer, personal digitalassistant, desktop computer, television, and/or any other device capableof receiving media, displaying media, transmitting data, and sensinguser inputs.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart showing the actions performed by theprimary device 4. The primary device 4 can receive media and/or aconfiguration from one of its inputs and/or through a communicationmethod. The primary device 4 can then use the media and theconfiguration to choose output media. The output media can be storedand/or presented to the user. Storage of the output media could bedependent on the attributes of the primary device 4, the first mediasignal 111, user preferences and/or similar criteria. The user can thenrespond to the output media. The user's response can then cause theprimary device 4 to perform an action.

FIG. 4A illustrates a more detailed flow chart showing the actionsperformed by the primary device 4. It will be clear that the sameactions could be provided by the ancillary devices 5. When being turnedon, the primary device 4 can receive a variety of inputs, comprising afirst media signal 111, a related media signal 114, an advertisementsignal 113, a user input, a configuration signal, and/or stored media.Each of these signals can comprise or be translatable into media thatcan be provided to the user. Examples of this comprise media providedthrough the media signals, stored media, pre-programmed media responsesto user inputs, media responses to new configurations, and/or the like.Additionally, the inputs can cause a change of the primary device'sconfiguration, such as by a signal from the media association system 2,advertisement entity 6, the first transmitter 3, an ancillary device 5,the control management system 100 and/or other sources. Such a signalmay comprise machine readable code, or instructions for machine readablecode already on the primary device. Alternatively, user inputs couldalter the configuration of the primary device in a similar manner.

Referring further to FIG. 4A and FIG. 2, the display selection module406 can use the incoming media, user inputs, and/or its ownconfiguration to choose output media. For example, a computer may beconfigured by the user to a “mute” setting, and when the computerreceives an incoming media signal with both audio and video, thecomputer may output the video and not the audio. In another example, aninteractive television system may receive multiple video signals fromboth a first transmitter 3 and a media association system 2. Theinteractive television system can also receive a configuration signalfrom the media association system 2 with criteria stating what a usermay and may not watch. The interactive television system could then,upon user input for selecting a channel, either display the video signalon that channel from the first transmitter, or instead an advertisementmedia signal 113 from the media association system 2 if the user is notpermitted to view that channel. Further configurations could overlayadvertisement and/or the related media signals 113, 114 on a first mediasignal 111. Additionally, the display selection module 406 can beconfigured to store one or more media signals for later viewing.

When presented with the output media, the user can provide a response,as illustrated in FIG. 4A. The user response can be based on intentionalaction or inaction, and/or the response can be caused by the user or theuser's environment. The response can comprise user reactions or usercommands, detected by the primary device's sensors. These responses canthen be used by the primary device 4 to change its output criteria,choose media to be stored, or choose to perform some other action ofwhich the device is capable. Additionally, the primary device 4 canrelay these responses, or some function thereof, to the mediaassociation system 2, the advertisement entity 6, the first transmitter3, the ancillary device 5, the control management system 100 and/or thelike. For example, the primary device 4 can report to the mediaassociation system 2 when the user chooses to view the first mediasignals 111 from a different first transmitter 3 (for example, the userchanges stations).

Media Association System

Referring back to FIG. 1, the media association system 2 can comprisethe device components illustrated for the primary device 4 as depictedin FIG. 2. The media association system 2 can also be a plurality ofmedia association systems 2, wherein each device performs similar and/ordistinct functions to be described below.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the mediaassociation system 2. The media association system 2 can receive fromthe first transmitter 3, the first media signal 111 or informationrelated to the first media signal 111. This can be used by the mediasignal identifier module 280 to identify the contents of the first mediasignal 111, or certain characteristics thereof. That information canthen be forwarded to a related media processing module 250, which canthen choose what media content to forward to a primary device 4, and putsaid media in proper form for transmission.

As further depicted in FIG. 5, a media association system 2 can alsoreceive advertisement signals 113 and/or advertisement criteria from anadvertisement entity 6. This information, along with information fromthe media signal identifier module 280, can be provided to anadvertisement processing module 251, which uses the information toperform functions that can be similar to or different from thoseperformed by the related media processing module 250. The mediaassociation system 2 can use the information related to a first mediasignal 111, an advertisement signal 113, and/or the advertisementcriteria, and using or processing the information to select media to besent to the primary device 4. In one embodiment, advertisement criteriais created and/or managed in the control management system 100. Inanother embodiment, advertisement criteria is created and/or managed inthe advertisement entity 6. In another embodiment, advertisementcriteria is created and/or managed through combined use of the controlmanagement system 100 and the advertisement entity 6.

FIG. 5A illustrates a block diagram of a more detailed embodiment of amedia association system 2. As depicted in FIG. 5A, the mediaassociation system 2 can send information to the primary device 4 and/orto any ancillary devices 5. These communications can be establishedthrough communications element 223 comprising any of the communicationmethods discussed, or the like. The communication methods used can bethe same, or can be different between each communications element 223for each direction of communication. Advantageously, the mediaassociation system 2 can transmit directly to a given primary and/orancillary device 4, 5, thus customizing content to that device and/orthat user.

Further, as depicted in FIG. 5A, the communications need not bespecifically directed toward one primary or ancillary device 4, 5 orspecifically directed toward the media association system 2. Forexample, the media association system 2 can send a related media signal114 or advertisement signal 113 through communications elements 223 to aplurality of primary devices 4 and/or ancillary devices 5, such as bybroadcast radio whether analog or digital, satellite, cable, HSDPA,GPRS, a publicly available internet website, and/or some other openlyaccessible medium and/or communication method. Similarly, the signal canbe sent directly to a given primary and/or ancillary device 4, 5, butnot necessarily customized to the device. If desirable, the signal canthen be customized by the primary and/or ancillary device 4, 5 via adisplay selection module 406 on the primary and/or ancillary device 4, 5(depicted in FIG. 2), such that a portion of the related media and/oradvertisement signals 113 are presented to the user. The signalultimately presented to the user can frequently and/or periodically becustomized for said user by the display selection module 406, which canbe downloaded from the media association system 2, edited by the mediaassociation system 2 via a data signal (for example, from the mediaassociation system 2), edited by the user, edited through use of aconditional access portal and/or database server such as the controlmanagement system 100, and/or modified in some other way.

The media association system 2 as depicted in FIG. 5A provides a relatedmedia signal 114 to the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 via acommunications element 223. The communications element 223 can use acommunication method to provide media to the primary and/or ancillarydevices 4, 5, and to receive information from said devices. The relatedmedia signal 114 sent via the communications element 223 can bedetermined by a related media processing module 250. The related mediaprocessing module 250 can receive information from the media signalidentifier module 280, the communications element 223, the internet 7,and/or other sources. These connections allow the related mediaprocessing module 250 to acquire information not stored on the mediaassociation system's mass storage device (not shown) or in theinformation transmitted by the first transmitter 3 (discussed below).For example, in the context of an SMS message as a first media signal111, the related phone number and/or the text of the message might notfully identify the identity of the sender. In this example, the relatedmedia processing module 250 may connect to a remote phone listingsdatabase to associate the phone number with a sender name, address,and/or other relevant information. As another example, in the context ofradio the first media signal 111 may come with an accompanying RBDSand/or RDS signal, but not with album art. If the memory storage unitdoes not store album art or does not store album art for the particularsong being played, then the media association system 2 can access theinternet 7 to automatically download the album art and prepare it fortransmission to the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5.

The related media processing module 250 in FIG. 5A can also perform thetask of deciding what media to provide to different primary and/orancillary devices 4, 5. The related media processing module 250 can usea set of user display criteria, based on pre-determined userpreferences, bandwidth restrictions, broadcaster preference, artistpreference, copyright access, the media association system's operator'spreference, age, gender, language, location, time of day, type ofdevice, user preferences, user affiliations, political affinity,cultural affinity, popularity, and the like, and/or any other criteriadiscussed herein. Notably, embodiments equipped for communication fromthe primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 to the media associationsystem 2 can update these criteria based on a user response constantlyor intermittently, via the communications element 223.

The related media processing module 250 depicted in FIG. 5A can alsoprepare the related media for transmission to the primary and/orancillary devices 4, 5. Such preparation can comprise encryption,compression, reformatting, and/or any other data processing method thatcan change the size, form, accessibility, and/or content of the relatedmedia signal 114. Such steps can reduce bandwidth requirements, restrictaccess to the related media signal 114, and allow it to be viewed on theprimary and/or an ancillary devices 4, 5 capable of viewing media in acertain set of formats.

As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the related media processing module 250 canobtain and/or receive information relating to the first media signal 111from the media signal identifier module 280. The media signal identifiermodule 280 can obtain and/or receive information relating to the firstmedia signal 111 from the first transmitter 3 via either the receiver220 and/or the communications element 221. The communications element221 can allow two-way communication between the media association system2 and the first transmitter 3, while the receiver 220 can allow one-waycommunication, such as by receiving a publicly available radio ortelevision signal. Two-way communications allow the media associationsystem 2 to request specific information and provide the firsttransmitter 3 with information regarding user responses, discussedfurther below. The media signal identifier module 280 is also connectedto the internet 7, allowing the media signal identifier module 280 toobtain outside information to identify the first media signal 111.Although not illustrated in FIG. 5, the media signal identifier module280 can also receive similar information from the primary and/orancillary devices 4, 5. When the media signal identifier module 280cannot obtain sufficient information from the first transmitter 3 toidentify the first media signal 111, the media signal identifier module280 can obtain further information related to the first media signal 111from the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5.

In addition to or in place of the related media signal 114, asillustrated in FIG. 5A the media association system 2 can send anadvertisement signal 113 to the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 inthe same ways that the related media signal 114 can be sent. Theadvertisement signal 113 is determined by an advertisement processingmodule 251. The advertisement processing module 251 receives informationregarding the first media signal 111, or a representation thereof suchas a identifier 115, from the media signal identifier module 280.Additionally, the advertisement processing module 251 receivesadvertisement signals 113 and/or advertisement criteria from advertisingentities 6 through an advertiser communications element 222. Theadvertisement processing module 251 can also receive feedback from theprimary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 via the communications element223. The advertisement processing module can then use the advertisementcriteria from the advertisement entity 6, information regarding thefirst media signal 111 from the media signal identifier module 280,and/or signals transmitted from the primary and/or ancillary devices 4,5 to determine which advertisement media to send to the primary and/orancillary devices 4, 5. The advertisement processing module 251 can besubstantially similar to the related media processing module, or it cancomprise other elements. As with the related media signal 114, theadvertisement signal 113 can be stored in a memory storage unit on theprimary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5, or be modified by the primaryand/or ancillary devices 4, 5, prior to presentation to the user. In oneembodiment information identifying the first media signal 111, theadvertisement signal 113, the related media signal 114, the uniqueidentifier 115, time of receipt and/or interactive selection optionssuch as organization of options in a menu system can be stored in amemory storage unit on the primary and/or ancillary devices 4,5 forretrieval at a later time and display by as desired by the user. Keyword search capabilities and/or time based first-in-last-outmethodologies can be employed for ease of access.

The media association system 2 depicted in FIG. 5A can provide anadvertisement entity 6 interface through communications 222, furtherdiscussed below. This interface can comprise a conditional accesswebsite and/or web portal, WAP portal, form letter, automated phonesystem, and/or some other mechanism for allowing advertisement entities6 to automatically send advertisement criteria and/or signals andreceive feedback from the media association system 2. In one embodiment,the media association system 2 may operate discretely from the controlmanagement system 100. In another embodiment, the media associationsystem 2 may operate in logical combination with the control managementsystem 100. In another embodiment, the media association system 2 canoperate as a portion of the control management system 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the media association system 2 canadditionally comprise one or more report modules 260, 261 connected tothe communications element 223. The report modules 260, 261 allow themedia association system 2 to transmit user feedback from the primaryand/or ancillary devices 4, 5 to the first transmitter 3, the controlmanagement system 100 and/or the advertisement entity 6. The reportmodules 260, 261 can condense, transform, encrypt, and/or otherwisechange the form or content of this data (customizable for each) beforepassing it along to the first transmitter 3, the control managementsystem 100 and/or the advertisement entity 6. The first transmitter 3,the control management system 100 and/or the advertisement entity 6 canthen use this information to determine what signals and/or criteria toprovide to the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5, and/or to themedia association system 2.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram for an embodiment of the mediaassociation system 2. The system can be started by turning on the power,providing a command to start a given software module, or the like. Themedia association system 2 can then receive information relating to thefirst media signal 111, the advertisement signal 113, and/or theadvertisement criteria. Information obtained relating to the first mediasignal 111 can comprise data related to the media signal's currentprogramming, further comprising but not limited to the title of theprogram, artists, advertiser, ad, song, movie, program length, starttimes, end times, other information relevant to the program, and/orsimply the program itself. The foregoing information pertaining to theprograms can also be transmitted by the first transmitter 3. If thefirst transmitter 3 transmits the foregoing related information in asignal publicly available, then the media association system 2 canadvantageously retrieve the information without requiring a separatecommunications link with the first transmitter 3. Additionally, theprimary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 can obtain this informationindependent of the media association system 2. The information relatedto the first media signal 111 need not be transmitted from the firsttransmitter 3 constantly, and could instead be transmitted at regular orirregular intervals, in which case the media association system 2 canstore said information in a memory storage unit.

In the case where the only information available is the actual firstmedia signal 111, or when the associated media signals 112 are otherwiseinaccessible, the step of identifying the first media signal illustratedin FIG. 6 can comprise using the first media signal 111 itself toidentify the contents of the media signal. For example, a radio stationmay verbally announce the title of a song prior to playing said song,and therefore the media signal identifier module 280 can use avoice-recognition module or a person listening to the broadcast to inputor identify the contents of the first media signal 111. Alternatively,the media signal identifier module 280 could maintain a databasecontaining recordings of content that might be presented by a firsttransmitter 3, and use statistical and/or non-statistical methods tocompare the transmitted first media signal 111 and/or recorded contentto identify the contents of the first media signal 111. Methods foridentifying first media signal 111 contents can comprise humanrecognition, least-squares spectral analysis (LSSA), hash sums, or otheroperations comparing the first media signal to recorded content. Similaroperations can also be performed without a full recording of thecontent, but instead appropriate information related to the content.When other information regarding the first media signal 111 isavailable, using these methods can also be used for redundancy and/orerror-checking.

In some instances it may not be necessary to fully identify the firstmedia signal 111 as illustrated in FIG. 6. For example, to chooseappropriate accompanying signals it may be sufficient to identify thegenre or topic of the first media signal 111 such as sporting events,political events, weather and/or news topic. As such, the mediaassociation system 2 can identify some characteristic of the first mediasignal 111. When the foregoing is not possible, the accompanying mediacan be chosen based on default criteria.

Referring to FIG. 6, once the first media signal 111 has beensufficiently identified the media association system 2 can collectand/or store the information and/or data related to the media signal 111to be eventually provided to the primary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5.This related media can comprise media also transmitted by the firsttransmitter 3, media stored in a mass storage device on the mediaassociation system 2, or media collected from other sources such as theinternet, other data connections, and/or by physical means.

FIG. 6 illustrates that after the media association system 2 hascollected related media, the media association system 2 can prepare arelated media signal 114. This can involve editing, truncating,reordering, combining, and/or performing similar operations on therelated media signal 114. Additionally, it can involve putting therelated media signal 114 in a proper format, as done by the relatedmedia processing module 250 in FIG. 5A. Criteria or the filter forchoosing what related media to provide to the primary and/or ancillarydevices 4, 5, and in what format to do so, can comprise settings chosenby the user and reported by a primary and/or ancillary device 4, 5, andother data about the user further discussed below.

The device responses depicted in FIG. 6 provide information used toamend criteria for preparing the related media signal 114. Thus, themedia association system 2 can amend and/or calibrate criteriacontinuously, with the possibility of converging on a set of criteriathat is optimal for each user or any given subset of users according tocriteria discussed further below. The responses can be modified,condensed, encrypted, and/or transformed in some other way prior totransmission between any clement and/or module.

Also in FIG. 6, the media association system 2 can receive at least oneadvertisement signal 113 and/or advertisement criteria from anadvertisement entity 6. The media association system 2 can use thisinformation, and possibly also the identity of the first media signal,to choose an advertisement media signal 113 to be transmitted to theprimary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5 based on preselected criteria.This advertisement media signal 113 can then be prepared fortransmission and, with or without the related media signal 114, sent tothe devices 4, 5. Alternatively, the related media signal 114 can besent without an advertisement signal 113. The criteria or filter forchoosing an advertisement signal 113 can be constantly refined. Ingeneral, the method for providing an advertisement signal 113 cancomprise any of the methods by which the related media signal 114 can beprovided, although they do not need to be provided in the same way inany single embodiment.

To determine rules for choosing which advertisement media signals 113 toprovide to the devices at any given time, advertisement entities 6provide a set of advertisement criteria as illustrated in FIG. 6. Theadvertisement criteria can associate a given advertisement signal 113and/or advertisement identifier 115 to certain content, users, times,geographies, sources, and/or other categories. Criteria or filterrelating to content can comprise the title of a program, artist,producer, length, genre, lyrics, and/or keywords therein, and/or othercharacteristics. Criteria or filter relating to users can comprisedemographic data, such as age, sex, income, race, zodiac sign, type ofdevice, time of day, location, language, affiliations and/or clubmemberships, marital status, religion, cultural affinity, politicalaffinity, popularity, user preference, place of residence, hometown,and/or other data.

Other demographic data comprises media event history of the user, mediaevent history of the device, media stream content history, media streamtransmitter history, alternate media stream content history, devicehistory, prior interactions of the user based on past associations,promotional campaigns, previous, on going, and/or anticipated futureevents, demographic information associated with the source of the firstmedia signal 111, demographic information associated with the collectiveusers of the first media signal 111, demographic information fromresearch providers, and/or the like.

Other criteria includes, but is not limited to, media stream producers,media stream artists, media stream consumers, benefits of associatingone media stream with another, professional studies or psychographicdata, availability, costs, signal strength, opportunity costs,geographic information, contractual obligations, intellectual propertyrights, genre, and/or the like. Criteria relating to users can furthercomprise data collected by the devices, such as choosing to turn off thedevice, change the volume, change the station, and/or provide any otherresponse, upon receiving a first media signal 111, a related mediasignal 114, and/or an advertisement media signal 113.

Criteria relating to times can comprise the length, date and/or time oftransmission at the source, date and/or time of reception at the userdevice, date and/or time of viewing of a given media signal, as well asdate and/or time relative to of the media signal relative to other mediasignals, including but not limited to prior, current, or futuretransmissions of media signals, date and/or time of prior, current, orfuture events, date and/or time of one criteria relative to anothercriteria, and/or the like.

Criteria related to geography can comprise the location and/or pastlocations of the first transmitter 3, the advertisement entity 6, theprimary and/or ancillary devices 4, 5, or the user's home, place ofwork, billing address, and/or other locations associated with the user.Storing the primary and/or ancillary device's 4, 5 past locationhistories can indicate travel habits as well as current direction,language in a location, velocity, and/or regional associations. Criteriarelating to source can comprise characteristics of the first transmitter3, comprising first transmitter identity, signal strength, signalquality, signal type; for example, digital vs. analog, media form, usualgenre, Nielsen ratings, and/or other characteristics. Other criteriasources can comprise the advertisement entity's 6 willingness to pay,the related advertisement media signals 113 (such as packageadvertisements or advertising campaigns), the advertised products,services, causes, and/or events that conflict with the interests ofanother advertisement entity 6, and/or the interests of the operator ofthe media association system 2, and/or any other criteria.

The foregoing should not be considered an exhaustive list of possiblecriteria for choosing what advertisement media signal 113 is sent orprovided to a given device 4, 5. The foregoing criteria or filterelements can be used singularly or in combination with each other. Thecriteria used to determine the media content to be associated with thefirst media signal 111 can involve the assignment of weighting factorsto some criteria, and/or can be dynamic changed, for example, where thestatus of one criterion determines the weight to assign to anothercriterion. Access to criteria selection and/or weighting factors couldbe through the use of the internet, data entry, paper, telephone, textmessaging, and/or any other means of conveying information into thesystem. The analysis can be static where the criteria are evaluatedindependently of each other. The analysis can change with time, events,and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the analysis comprises the ability to anticipatecriteria conflicts and/or the ability to resolve criteria conflicts. Anexample of a criteria conflict would be demonstrated when a filter orcriteria dictates that two discrete secondary media signals be pairedwith a single first media signal. Resolution can be made by prioritizingone of the secondary media signals over the other; using additionalcriteria to resolve the conflict; dividing the association of thesecondary media streams to the first media stream by time, location,demographics, language, number of devices, randomness, or the like. Thedivision does not have to be equal, and/or can favor one media signalover another.

To provide an advertisement selection process, some embodiments areconfigured to analyze user responses reported by the primary and/orancillary devices 4, 5 to amend the advertisement selection processcriteria (as well as the related media signal selection criteria). Insome embodiments, it is advantageous to first condense advertisementcriteria parameters and/or data collected by the devices into a varietyof statistics, such as the estimated probability of a given response toa given signal or the estimated revenue from a given signal. To furtherimprove data mining capabilities, some primary and/or ancillary devices4, 5 can send to the media association system 2 over communicationselement 223 a complete report similar to a keystroke log combined with alog of viewed media, data, and/or advertisements. In other embodimentsthe foregoing data is condensed before transmission.

When receiving the response data from the primary and/or ancillarydevices 4, 5, the advertisement processing module 251 can use variousstatistical methods to estimate the likely success of a givenadvertisement media signal 113 and/or related media signal 114. Successcan be measured by user responses, such as eliciting or obtaining anincrease in volume, not eliciting or obtaining a decrease in volume,eliciting a sale of an advertised product, a charge for each userresponse or click through to an advertiser or other results. Statisticaltechniques used can comprise generalized least squares regression,profit models, logic models, and/or other linear statistical techniques,as well as non-linear statistical methods. It may also be advantageousto comprise interactions between distinct variables, such as the effectof one variable on the effect of another variable on the successcriteria. In other embodiments, other techniques could be usedcomprising holistic and/or non-mathematical methods.

It will be clear that these methods for measuring the anticipated userresponse to advertisement media signals 113 can also be used to measurethe anticipated user response to related media signals 114 and/or firstmedia signals 111. Such methods allow the media association system 2 toadvantageously provide optimal signals desirable to users, thusenhancing the value of the product.

Taking all, substantially all, or some of these criteria together, therelated media and/or advertisement processing modules 250, 251 canchoose advertisement and/or related media signals 114 optimized forachieving a certain goal. Such goals may comprise boosting responses toadvertisement media signals 113, increasing viewing by users, increasingrevenue from advertisement entities 6, increasing user responses orclick throughs to advertisement media signals 113 to increase perresponse revenue and/or other goals.

Additionally, the media association system 2 in FIG. 5A and/or thesignal selection process in FIG. 6 can be modified such that theadvertisement signal 113 is selected knowing its accompanying relatedmedia signal 114, the related media signal is selected knowing itsaccompanying advertisement signal 113, or the two are selected as apair. Such a system will be advantageous in that the two signals(advertisement message 113 and related media signal 114) can becoordinated to avoid clashing colors, excessive stimuli, and/or othercoordination problems. However, choosing the signals independently cansometimes require fewer computational resources by providing a smallernumber of choices to be considered. Thus, the media association system 2can be configured to choose the signals in any of these ways, dependingon its available resources.

The process depicted in FIG. 6 of selecting an advertisement signal 113to coincide with a given portion of the first media signal 111 can causethe advertised product, cause, or idea to become psychologicallyassociated with the content of the first media signal. It may bedesirable to provide the advertisement media signal 113 to the primarydevice 4 prior to the termination of the desired portion of the firstmedia signal 111, so as to enhance the psychological connection betweenthe two media signals. However, providing the advertisement media signal113 shortly before or after the related first media signal 111 can stillhave an effect. Similarly, if a first media signal 111 is sufficientlymemorable and the advertisement media signal 113 is sufficientlyrelated, it may be desirable to provide an advertisement signal 113 aset time period after the first media signal 111 so as to evoke positivememories. Providing an advertisement media signal 113 in anticipation ofa first media signal 111 can also provide benefits in accordance withthe invention, such as to promote a future media program on the same ora different station or a program transmitted by an entirely differentcommunication method.

The method depicted in FIG. 6 can provide the advertisement signal 113from a source distinct from the first transmitter 3. This allows one toassociate advertisement signals 113 not necessarily the same asadvertisement signals 113 provided by the first transmitter 3. Thus, forexample, a radio transmission without graphical advertisements from thefirst transmitter 3 can be augmented with graphical advertisementsprovided by the media association system 2. Alternatively, a televisionbroadcast from the first transmitter 3 can have advertisementsspecifically determined by the media association system 2, perhapstargeted to a specific region, market, language, age, gender, politicalparty, cultural affinity, and/or set of viewers. The media associationsystem 2 can thus tailor advertisement media signals 113 to eachindividual, independent of or in conjunction with the first transmitter3.

Advertisement Entity

Referring back to FIG. 1, the advertisement entity 6 can comprisecorporations, companies, partnerships, agencies, firms, organizations,public entities, non-profit organizations, individuals, and/or any otherentity, including the operator of the media association system 2 and/orthe first transmitter 3. Similarly, the advertisement signals 113 canadvocate a product, service, cause, and/or event, promote awareness ofan idea or issue, and/or comprise any other form of communicationmethod. In some embodiments, the advertisement media signal 113 can beassigned a unique advertisement identifier 115 to facilitatecommunication, data processing, and/or data mining.

The communications between the advertisement entity 6 and the mediaassociation system 2, depicted in FIGS. 1 and 5A can go through aninterface provided by the communications element 222. The interface cancomprise a webpage or web portal, WAP portal, paper form, automatedtelephone system, a person, and/or any other form capable oftransmission through a communication method. Through the interface, theadvertisement entity 6 can set advertisement criteria discussed above,such as when a given advertisement signal 113 should be provided.Additionally, the interface can allow the advertisement entity 6 toupload or send new advertisement media signals 113 remotely. Thus, anadvertisement entity 6 can constantly update its advertisement mediasignals 113. The interface can also provide information back to theadvertisement entity 6 from the media association system 2, comprisingbilling information and usage and/or response feedback from the primaryand/or ancillary devices 4, 5. This information can be provided inwhole, or in condensed forms such as numerical statistics, pie charts,bar graphs, text, and/or any other media. As with the related mediasignal 114 and the primary device 4, the interface with theadvertisement entity 6 can be determined by criteria deriving fromeither the advertisement entity 6 and/or the media association system 2.The interface can further comprise modules that allow a user to accessdata through the use of stylized screen elements such as, for example,menus, windows, dialog boxes, toolbars, controls (for example, radiobuttons, check boxes, sliding scales, combinations of the same, or thelike), and/or the like.

With reference to FIG. 7, the various embodiments of the mediaenhancement system may be used in a variety of systems and/or contexts.FIG. 7 illustrates such an example context. In the illustrated example,a plurality of broadcast sources 120 broadcast various media content ina plurality of broadcast streams, which are received by the broadcastscanning system 160. In one embodiment, the broadcast scanning system160 is configured to: analyze the broadcast streams received from theplurality of broadcast sources 120 to obtain or identify the mediacontent transmitted in the broadcast streams; obtain additionalinformation about the media content if available; and/or assign a uniqueevent identifier 115 specific to the broadcast of each specificbroadcast stream. In one embodiment, the broadcast scanning system 160transmits the unique event identifier 115 to the media association(advertisement) system 1102. Methods and systems of how the broadcastscanning system 160 obtain or generate the unique event identifier 115are disclosed in detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.______, filed ______, titled “SYSTEM, METHOD, AND DEVICES FOR SCANNINGBROADCASTS,” which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. In oneembodiment, the broadcast scanning system 160 stores the unique eventidentifier 115 in the unique event identifier database 1111. In oneembodiment, the unique event identifier 115 that is stored in the uniqueevent identifier database 1111 is database linked with the correspondingand/or associated content and/or content identifiers that are stored inthe content database 1103.

Referring to FIG. 7, in one embodiment, the broadcast scanning system160 farther broadcasts or transmits over a network to the broadcastreceiving systems 140. In one embodiment, the unique event identifier115 is transmitted through the internet and/or over a wireless/cellularnetwork to a mobile device operating a software application (forexample, a Java J2ME software application) capable of accessing theinternet through the wireless/cellular network. After a broadcastreceiving system 140 receives a broadcast stream from a broadcast source120, and receives a corresponding unique event identifier 115 from thebroadcast scanning system 160, the broadcast receiving system 140 isconfigured to receive a user selection or user input. After thebroadcast receiving system 140 receives the user selection or userinput, the broadcast receiving system 140 is configured, in oneembodiment, to transmit to the broadcast response and business system1101 at least the unique event identifier 115 and/or a user identifier.

In further reference to FIG. 7, in one embodiment, the broadcastresponse and business system 1101 is configured to connect to the uniqueevent identifier database 1111 in order to perform a database lookup ofthe received unique event identifier 115. From the database lookup, thebroadcast response system 1101 can determine the broadcast source, thetime and date of the broadcast, and/or the content associated with thebroadcast. The broadcast response system 1101 is configured in oneembodiment to locate in the content database 1103 the content and ifavailable, the content identifier associated with the broadcast based onthe database lookup. In one embodiment, the broadcast response system1101 is configured to store the user selection or the user response inthe response database 1105.

With reference to FIG. 7, if the user selected to purchase the contentassociated with the unique event identifier 115, then the broadcastresponse system 1101 is configured in one embodiment to verify the useridentifier in the consumer database 1107, which stores, for example,user name, address, demographic data, and/or other similar userinformation. The broadcast response system 1101 in one embodiment isconfigured to store the purchase event in the purchase database 1109.The purchase database 1109 is configured to store, for example, pastuser purchases, user credit card information, user billing information,user preferences, user telephone information for billing the usercellular account, age, gender, location, mobile operator, receivingdevice model and/or the like. In one embodiment, the broadcast responsesystem 1101 is configured to transmit the purchase selection to thefulfillment system 1113. The fulfillment system 1113 can also beconfigured to ship from a supplier 1117 to the user a physical product,for example, a CD or book, and in other embodiments, the fulfillmentsystem 1113 is configured to inform the user where to download thecontent, or electronically transmits the content to the user.

Referring to FIG. 7, in one embodiment, the data mining and reportingsystem 1115 is configured to connect to the content database 1103, theresponse database 1105, the consumer database 1107, the purchasedatabase 1109, and/or the unique event identifier database 1111 toconduct data mining and/or reporting. In one embodiment, the data miningand reporting system 1115 is configured to identify based on the uniqueevent identifier 115 the broadcast source, the broadcast segment, and/orthe time and date of the broadcast segment that produced the most userresponses in a given period.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, in one embodiment, the media association(advertisement ad) system 1102 is configured to receive the unique eventidentifier 115 from the broadcast scanning system 160. The mediaassociation system 1102 in one embodiment is configured to identify thecontent associated with the unique event identifier 115 by performing adatabase lookup using the unique event identifier database 1111 and/orthe content database 1103. The media association system 1102 can also beconfigured to compare the content with a database to determine whetheran associated media stream or content should be transmitted to broadcastreceiving systems 140 that are displaying or outputting the contentassociated with the unique event identifier 115. For example, the mediaassociation system 1102 is configured in one embodiment to display anadvertisement next to a graphic representing a music artist and/oradvertiser featured in the content received from a broadcast source 120and outputted on the broadcast receiving system 140.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are inany way required for one or more embodiments or that one or moreembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without userinput or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps areincluded or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

In certain embodiments, the acts, methods, and processes describedherein are implemented within, or using, software modules (programs)that are executed by one or more general purpose computers. The softwaremodules may be stored on or within any suitable computer-readablemedium. It should be understood that the various steps may alternativelybe implemented in-whole or in-part within specially designed hardware.The skilled artisan will recognize that not all calculations, analysesand/or optimization require the use of computers, though any of theabove-described methods, calculations or analyses can be facilitatedthrough the use of computers.

Although the foregoing systems and methods have been described in termsof certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments will be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art from the disclosure herein.Additionally, other combinations, omissions, substitutions andmodifications will be apparent to the skilled artisan in view of thedisclosure herein. While certain embodiments of the inventions have beendescribed, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only,and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, thenovel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a varietyof other forms without departing from the spirit thereof. Further, thedisclosure herein of any particular feature, aspect, method, property,characteristic, quality, attribute, element, or the like in connectionwith an embodiment can be used in all other embodiments set forthherein. Accordingly, other combinations, omissions, substitutions andmodifications will be apparent to the skilled artisan in view of thedisclosure herein.

1. A method for associating multiple media signals, comprising in noparticular order: obtaining information about a first media signal;analyzing the information about the first media signal; selecting atleast one second media signal to be correlated with the first mediasignal based on at least one criteria; assigning a unique identifierthat is specific to the transmission of the selected second mediasignal, wherein at least the unique identifier is stored in a database;transmitting at least the second media signal and the unique identifierto a user device, wherein the user device outputs the first media signaland the second media signal to a user; receiving a user response fromthe user in relation to the second media signal wherein the userresponse includes at least the unique identifier; and correlating atleast the unique identifier in the database.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the obtaining the first media signal and the transmitting thesecond media signal are performed using different communicationsmethods.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one additional mediasignal beyond the second media signal is transmitted to the device. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the first media signal is disseminatedthrough a second device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstmedia signal and the second media signal are outputted to the user onthe same device.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mediasignal comprises a radio broadcast and the second media signal comprisesa graphic image.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising generatinga report wherein at least a portion of the report generation uses atleast the unique identifier and the database.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the first media signal is publicly available and the secondmedia signal is transmitted to a specific user device.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising transmitting to the user device a thirdmedia signal, wherein the second media signal is at the request of theuser device and the third media signal is at the request of anadvertisement entity.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastone criteria is modified according to the return user response.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the at least one association criteria ismodified continuously.
 12. A method for combining multiple media signalsin a device, comprising in no particular order: obtaining a first mediasignal by the device; outputting a first media content comprised in thefirst media signal to a user of the device; obtaining a second mediasignal by the device; obtaining a criteria correlated to the secondmedia signal; evaluating the criteria in reference to the user of thedevice; and outputting at least a second media content comprised in thesecond media signal to the user of the device, wherein in the secondmedia content outputted is determined at least in part based on theevaluation of the criteria.
 13. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising communicating the obtainment of the first media signal to amedia signal association system.
 14. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising communicating the status of the device to a media signalassociation system.
 15. The method of claim 12, further comprisingobtaining a unique identifier specific to the instance of the outputtingof the second media signal; detecting a user response to the secondmedia content and transmitting at least the unique identifier to acomputer server, wherein the computer server has access to a databasecontaining at least the unique identifier.
 16. A user device systemcapable of combining multiple media signals comprising: a first receivermodule configured to receive at least a first media signal from a firsttransmitter; a second receiver module configured to receive at least asecond media signal and a unique identifier correlated to the secondmedia signal; an output module configured to output a primary mediacontent from the first media signal and output a secondary media contentfrom the second media signal; an input module capable of receiving atleast a user input; and a transmitting module capable of transmitting atleast the user input and the unique identifier to a computer server,wherein the computer server has access to a database containing at leastthe unique identifier.
 17. The user device of claim 16 furthercomprising an output selection module capable of limiting the output ofthe primary and secondary media content based on a criteria.
 18. Theuser device of claim 16 further comprising a mass storage device capableof storing at least one of one the media content.
 19. A method forassociating multiple media signals, comprising in no particular order:obtaining information about a first media signal; analyzing theinformation about the first media signal; selecting at least one secondmedia signal to be correlated with the first media signal based on atleast one criteria; assigning a unique identifier that is specific tothe transmission of the selected second media signal, wherein at leastthe unique identifier is stored in a database; transmitting at least thesecond media signal and the unique identifier to a user device, whereinthe user device outputs the first media signal and the second mediasignal to a user; and transmitting the unique identifier to a thirdparty.